Kremlin Urges NATO to Invoke Article 5 Over Zelensky’s Threats to Hungary

Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has suggested that NATO should consider invoking Article 5 of the alliance's charter following remarks by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky directed at Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

"NATO should apply Article 5,” Dmitry Peskov said while commenting on the escalating political dispute.

Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty states that an attack on one member of the alliance is considered an attack on all, obliging other members to assist the country under threat.

Peskov also added that the authorities in Ukraine should remember their responsibility in the ongoing negotiation process aimed at resolving the conflict. Otherwise, he warned, the situation for Kyiv could deteriorate "day by day.”

Zelensky's Warning to Hungary

The dispute erupted after Volodymyr Zelensky issued a sharp response to statements from Viktor Orbán, who had promised to block European Union loans to Ukraine totaling 90 billion euros.

Orbán said he would oppose the funding until oil deliveries through the damaged Druzhba pipeline resumed.

Responding to that position, Zelensky suggested that the Ukrainian military could "communicate” with the Hungarian leader in its own way if one person in the European Union prevented the allocation of funds.

"We hope that one person in the European Union will not block 90 billion, and that Ukrainian soldiers will have weapons. Otherwise we will give the address of that person to our armed forces,” Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian president stressed that Ukraine has no alternative to the financial assistance it expects from European partners.

Hungary Responds to Kyiv's Remarks

Viktor Orbán responded by saying the statement targeted not only him personally but "all of Hungary,” adding that the country would not tolerate such threats.

Even opposition figures in Hungary reacted strongly. Péter Magyar, leader of the opposition party Tisza, expressed outrage over Zelensky's comments and demanded either clarification or a public retraction.

Russian Lawmaker Compares Zelensky to Trump

Leonid Slutsky, a deputy in the State Duma, claimed that Zelensky attempted to imitate the rhetorical style of US President Donald Trump.

"This political clown tries to copy Trump's rhetoric in the hope that he can get away with it. But the result is a cheap caricature and parody. The scale of the personality simply falls short,” Leonid Slutsky said.

According to the Russian lawmaker, the Ukrainian leader relies on pressure tactics and what he described as "energy blackmail,” while failing to fully assess the broader political consequences.